Sept 2 e-mail

Greetings, Dear Friends,

What a journey it’s been over the past couple of months since Kaydence & I returned home. We’ve had multiple visitors, Michael’s flown A LOT, and rainy season is officially here. The past three weeks have brought countless families to their knees, with absolutely nothing and no one else to turn to. We’ve had Fay, Gustav, and now Hanna grace us with their presence, and now two more storms loom over the Atlantic. So many have lost everything, and I don’t see how people can take much more. Entire towns are washing away, and the water continues to rise.

Some areas have been hit harder than others, but basically the whole country has been affected (about 9 million people). Jacmel, Les Cayes, St. Marc, Gonaives, and more have sustained unbelievable flooding and damage. The pictures attached are from some of these places, as we’ve had other missionaries send them, asking for prayer and assistance. We had started some relief work to the Jacmel and Les Cayes areas, but they’ve been halted by the weather. In fact, our friends in Gonaives said that it’s worse than when Hurricane Jeane came through a couple of years ago. Our airstrip there will probably not be open again for about a year, as water does not drain well from the town & it’s totally underwater.

I know that many of you are praying for us and for others in Haiti. We ask that you continue to do so in earnest (James 5:16). With the cost of living increasing with each passing day, the drought we had earlier this year (and the resulting very poor yield from crops again this year), poor infrastructure, ever changing persons in leadership positions... we truly need to do all we can to show those around us the love of Christ.

As we’ve stated before, we are thankful to God for His provision in where we live. We’ve experienced some flooding in Port-au-Prince & Petionville from Gustav & Fay, but Hanna hasn’t brought us very much rain – only a steady, light rain since yesterday at our house (although it is picking up a bit) We’re situated on a hilltop, and the main problems we’ve had are related to problems with the generators on the campus (which also affects the water pump – no water). There have also been shortages of diesel, and we pray that supplies continue to come in. We know that many have been impacted by the rising cost of gas in the US (our support level has also declined in the past couple of months), and that these storms will probably impact those costs even more in the coming weeks. We are praying for folks in the US who have been displaced by the flooding from Gustav, and ask that God would protect and restore their homes and lives. We also pray that more homes & lives would be spared as the hurricane season continues. Thank you again for your thoughts, emails, prayers, and ongoing support. We love y’all!!!